Concord Music Group is pleased to announce
the reissue of The Complete Fantasy Recordings of Bill Evans. Set for a July
17th street date, the nine-CD box set celebrates one of the most influential
jazz pianists in history with 98 studio and live performances: Evans’ complete
body of work for the Fantasy label during the seven-year period closely
preceding his untimely death in 1980. As a special bonus, a fascinating 1978
interview with Evans at the piano is included, conducted by Marian McPartland
for her National Public Radio show. Completing the box is a 62-page illustrated
booklet with an essay by music critic and biographer Gene Lees and detailed notes
on each of the 11 sessions by longtime Evans manager and producer Helen
Keane. Previously out of print, the box
set will return to store shelves in new, sleek and compact 5” x 5” packaging.
In these solo, duo, trio and quintet performances with the
likes of Tony Bennett, Kenny Burrell, Eddie Gomez, Philly Joe Jones, Lee Konitz
and Marty Morell, Bill Evans is revealed as a commanding artist at the peak of
his powers. The Complete Fantasy Recordings includes such albums as Evans’
GRAMMY®-nominated label debut, The Tokyo Concert, his celebrated first duet
album with Tony Bennett, The Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Album and Evans’ only
solo recording for Fantasy, the GRAMMY®-nominated Alone (Again).
In his liner notes, Gene Lees writes of Evans, “I remember
my amazement not so much at the brilliance of the playing—itself cause enough
for wonder—as at the emotional content of the music…His playing spoke to me in
an intensely personal way. And as the years have gone by, I have discovered
that he had the same effect on many people.” Indeed, in the 35 years since his
passing, Bill Evans’ legacy and influence continues to grow.
The Complete Fantasy Recordings joins several recent and
forthcoming releases celebrating the career of Bill Evans. Aside from a handful
of reissued albums on vinyl, fans can also look forward to CD box set reissue
The Complete Riverside Recordings this fall, while highly acclaimed deluxe LP
box sets The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961 and The Complete Tony
Bennett/Bill Evans Recordings hit store shelves this past winter and spring,
respectively.
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